Playing Games
by haveyouseenmyhaggis
Summary: Helen Cutter appears at Stephen's house and blackmails him into coming with her - if he doesn't there will be trouble. Stephen is faced with choices he finds difficult but there's no turning back...
1. Come With Me

**Title: Playing Games**

**Summary: Helen Cutter appears at Stephen's house and blackmails him into coming with her. If he doesn't there will be trouble. Stephen is faced with choices he finds difficult but there's no turning back now.**

**Author's Note: ****This is my first proper Primeval fic. I've got a few X-overs but this is purely Primeval. So, it's set just after 2:2 (the one when Helen went to Stephen's flat). Not exactly sure when after that... but yeah. I'll just get on with the story! R&R is greatly welcomed!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Primeval._**

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Stephen heard the movement behind him. He paused and looked around. When he'd come in to the flat he'd been sure he was alone. He turned and there she was. Her hair was cut short just as it had been last time he'd seen her.

"Helen," he said quietly. He didn't want her there. He didn't want to see her.

"Hello Stephen," she said flashing him a smile. Stephen didn't even look at her. He focused on a spot somewhere by her left ear. He wasn't going to risk feelings returning for her - not again.

"Stephen, I'm sorry, I said last time! I just want you to understand!" she said taking a step towards him.

"You had to tell him though, didn't you? it was in the past! It was over!" Stephen retorted hotly not willing to forgive her.

"The past is never over Stephen! You should know that!" Helen said. There was something in her voice that was putting Stephen on edge. It was almost like she was nervous, flirting with him and excited at the same time. But there was something else there too - hatred. Fury.

She carried on talking when Stephen didn't answer.

"You're one of the people who's so interested to find out the secret behind the anomalies; the windows to the past!" she said. Stephen couldn't think of anything to say to that. He hated to admit it but she was right.

"Get out," he said after a while.

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes," Stephen said turning away from her. He didn't expect her to oblige and he wasn't surprised when he didn't hear her footsteps heading towards the door. She didn't move and he couldn't stop himself looking around again.

His mouth fell open when he saw what she was holding. Her hand was perfectly steady and in line with his chest.

"Put. The gun. Down," he said slowly raising his hands into the air not knowing what else to do.

"Or what? Stephen, you made me look stupid!"

"I told you what you needed to hear!" Stephen retorted hotly. He didn't like the fact that she had a gun and he didn't.

"You don't say thinks like that to me Stephen!" Helen snarled.

"Shoot me then!" Stephen said, almost challenging her to do it.

"I don't want to shoot you Stephen. I want you to come with me!" she said, her eyes sparkling with unconcealed malice. Stephen felt his stomach knot and his heart sink. What was she doing? Why was she playing games with him?


	2. Did You Love Him?

**demonickiwi – Yeah, I'm gonna continue with this. Not sure about the pairings. Nick/Claudia…**

**0Infinite0Possabilities0 – I love Primeval! Glad you like my story! **

**Salwyn – Thanks! Glad you like it!**

Soapy-Liedown – Glad you like! And sorry I took so long to update!

kat priestly –Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like!

**Paula xx

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Stephen looked out the window of Helen's car not saying anything. What was there to say? It was growing dark outside now. He felt uneasy. Where was she taking him? Suddenly he couldn't stay silent any longer.

"Where're we going?" he demanded. Helen's lips curled into a smile and she glanced in his direction to see if she was getting a reaction from him.

"I want to show you something," she said quietly.

"What?"

"You'll see," she said. Stephen sighed and looked out the window again. There was no point arguing with her.

They carried on driving along the road in silence…past an All-Night corner shop…a noisy bar…some flats…then Cutter's house. Stephen looked at Helen, disbelieving.

"What is this about?" he said as she parked the car by the pavement.

"Nick, you and me," she said grinning at him. Stephen bit back the heated retort he so badly wanted to say, unclipped his seatbelt and got out of the car.

For a moment he considered running…he could still get away. Helen put paid to that plan by pressing the gun against his back.

"Give me your hands Stephen," she commanded calmly but firmly, almost as though she was speaking to a rather insolent child. Stephen didn't object; he let her tie his hands behind his back. He knew she could shoot him if she wanted to.

"Come," she said pushing him towards Nick's front door. She rung the doorbell and waited patiently outside watching Stephen. He kept his eyes trained on the ground. Then the door opened.

"Stephen!" said Nick in surprise. Then he saw Helen, "What're you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" she said sweetly.

"Why?" he demanded, "What ever you've got to say, say it and go."

She showed Nick the gun and loaded it with a click placing it to Stephen's head. Stephen flinched slightly against the cold of the metal. Nick sighed and took a step back to allow them access. He slammed the door behind them.

"What is it Helen?"

"I just wanted to talk to you Nick."

"Why?" he said, "And why bring Stephen into all this?"

"We all know that Stephen is as much a part of this as you and I!" she said her lip curling. Stephen tried to get his hands out of the cords she'd tied them in and she was quick to pick up on it and pressed the gun into the side of his head again.

"Put the gun away, Helen!" said Nick sharply.

"I want you to listen," she said icily.

"Listening," Stephen said.

"Really?" she said. Stephen didn't answer.

"What do you want?"

"I want you back. I want you to come with me…you know things about the anomalies…this Claudia; I can help you find her again!" Helen said. Stephen looked confused. He felt as though he was the only one who didn't know who Claudia was.

"You don't know her."

"I know her," said Helen smiling, "And I know that you love her. If I know that it makes sense that I know her. I can _help _you Nick!"

"You're lying!" Nick said, reluctant to believe her.

"Why would I lie?"

"You've lied to me before!" said Nick nodding towards Stephen. Stephen turned his eyes to the ground ashamed.

"That was different. You were too engrossed in your work and I needed attention…" said Helen, her voice tailing off.

"Did you love him?" said Nick coldly. Stephen felt the words burning him, it was almost like they'd forgotten he was there.

"If I loved him, I wouldn't be able to do this!" she said. Stephen felt her tense slightly. He tried to pull away but she held on to the back of his shirt.

"What?" Nick slowly.

Then the gun went off.

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	3. Text

**0Infinite0Possibilities0 - Glad you like it, I thought I'd try something different with Helen. Because I think she could do it. **

**kat priestley - Here's what happens next, hope you like! Well. Like might not be the right word...**

**BTW, really sorry that it's so short but I felt I should update as I might not have much time after mid-term finishes on Wednesday. **

**Paula xx**

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Nick stared at Helen in disbelief. Her face only registered a small expression of shock and that in turn was gone in a second and left Nick wondering if he'd imagined it. Then he looked down as Stephen. The younger man was lying motionless on the ground, a small pool of blood forming around his shoulder staining his clothes and seeping on to the laminate flooring.

"Stephen!" he cried kneeling down beside him, "Stephen talk to me!"

"He won't. He's probably dead already," said Helen in a surprising cool manor. Nick ignored her and knelt down to check Stephen's pulse. There was still a pulse, even if it was weak and slightly erratic.

Nick pulled off his own shirt and bound it tightly around Stephen's shoulder hoping to stem the blood flow.

"Stephen! Wake up, please!" Nick begged of the younger man taking his hand and squeezing it. No reaction.

"I want you to come with me Nick," said Helen coolly.

"No," Nick said firmly heading to the phone in the living room. He picked up the receiver and dialled 999. Before the dial tone had finished Helen had snatched the phone from him and hung it up.

"You don't say no to me, you should know that by now!" she said smiling horribly. She raised the gun again and forced Nick back out of the door.

On the way down the hall they stepped over Stephen's body on the ground and Nick felt his heart sink. The man needed help!

Helen was momentarily distracted when she dropped her car keys on the hall floor and in that moment Nick grabbed his coat from the hook on the wall and rummaged urgently in the pockets.

He found what he was looking for just as Helen pushed him out of the door with a violent shove in the back.

He made sure to sit in the backseat of the car when she led him to her one outside. As soon as the vehicle set into motion he pulled out his phone. He didn't dare phone anyone but he could text. He sent a simple message to Connor; "Get an ambulance to my house. Now. No questions. Nick." Hopefully Connor would get the message.

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Connor's phone bleeped a few times and Connor looked up from the game he was playing on the laptop. He stood up from the desk and picked up his phone flipping it open.

"Abby? It's Cutter!" he called before opening the message. "Get an ambulance to my house. Now. No questions. Nick."

"ABBY! CUTTER'S BEEN HURT!" Connor yelled feeling the panic rising in his chest.

"Cutter?"

"Yeah, I think so! Or someone in his house!" Connor said showing her the message before dialling 999.


	4. Time Of Death

**I am _so_ sorry for the time you've had to wait for this chapter! I thought I'd updated it and then I checked and I was like...oops. So, I'm very sorry so I wrote a long one to make up for it! **

**kat preistly - Glad you like! Would I do such a thing as hurt Stephen? Me? You don't have to answer that...the answer is probably yes. **

**SgtGroganSG - I know how you feel about Stephen! Cue fan girl giggles. I can't believe what happened in the last episode...I really can't.**

**weezer42 - Glad you like it! Here's the next part!**

**0Infinite0Possibilities0 - Yeah, she did it. And i like Abby and Connor...it wouldn't be Primeval without them. **

**x - Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it and hope you enjoy the rest.**

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"What's this really about Helen?" Nick asked slowly, choosing his words carefully as he watched her drive the car.

"I thought I told you already?"

"You shot Stephen, I need answers now Helen."

"Answers?" she said smiling.

"Yes."

"I have something to show you! We're not far away now!" she said quietly as the car swerved abruptly round a corner.

"What? An anomaly?"

"Yes, actually, it is," she said coolly. Nick's brow furrowed in slight confusion. He didn't really understand what she was doing this for? What was she playing at? She knew things that he didn't.

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The world had all gone black - there was nothing there anymore, he didn't hurt. he wasn't tired…he wasn't afraid. He was calm, safe and warm. He couldn't concentrate on anything and usually that would have frustrated him but now he felt he didn't have to concentrate on anything. He was safe. He was free. Was this death? Stephen didn't know but whatever it was, it made him feel safe.

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Abby and Connor jumped out of the car as soon as it had stopped by the pavement. Together they ran to the house and found it unlocked. They sight that met them was one that they'd never forget. Stephen was lying on the hallway floor unconscious.

Connor gasped and stopped in the doorway. Abby meant to say something but her voice died in her throat.

Connor had called for the ambulance while Abby had been driving the car. That had been about ten minutes ago. It could take anything from half an hour for the paramedics to arrive. Abby dropped to her knees beside Stephen and pressed her hand to the side of his neck trying to get a pulse. Her heart turned to ice when she felt the weakness. She was going to have to save him. She struggled to remember what she'd been taught about CPR…

Connor meanwhile ran into the kitchen and grabbed a tea towel and wrapped it tightly around Stephen's bleeding shoulder.  
Abby took a deep breath and pressed her lips to Stephen's and breathed into his mouth twice. Then she readied herself for chest compressions. She'd never imagined she'd have to do this to a real person…

Connor watched slightly in awe. He got shakily to his feet and headed into the kitchen to look for a first aid box. Where was Nick likely to keep one? Would he even have one? Connor decided he had to look for one anyway.

Abby was growing tired; her arms ached, her head was spinning and her eyes were streaming. She'd been trying to resuscitate Stephen for the last fifteen minutes. Her heart leapt when she heard the ambulance siren screaming nearby but it was all background noise to her. She could only concentrate on helping Stephen. If she let anything slip now she might loose him.

Connor heard the ambulance too and dashed past Abby and waited at the door. He ran out onto the street and waved to the driver as the ambulance sped down the street. It skidded to a halt and Connor led the two paramedics into the house. Abby was still pressing down on Stephen's chest until Connor pulled her away and she resigned herself to crying gently in his arms.

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Helen parked the car in a hard shoulder by a main road. Nick looked around nervously as he got out of the car. He'd seen what Helen could do and it put him on edge.

"Look over there," said Helen slowly pointing to the trees by the road. He followed her gaze and his mouth fell open. There was another shimmering anomaly by the road.

"This is what you wanted me to see?"

"That anomaly's different to the rest. You can't tell me you didn't wonder what happened to this world. Claudia Brown doesn't exist here. The Anomaly Research Centre…there's so many differences Nick."

"You know about this…?"

"I do. That anomaly leads back to your world. This is a parallel world. If you went back through there you'd find everything pretty much as you left it. The others, Connor, Stephen and Abby are all there waiting for you. They think you've been trapped in the future. The collision of two worlds has been affecting people and making them "disappear" and that's what was happening to Claudia. She'll "re-appear" once you go back and everything will be sorted. Back to normal."

Helen was watching him now with a small smile playing across her face. Nick looked at her trying to decide whether to believe her or not.

"What about…what about the other Nick? Shouldn't there be a version of me here?" he asked slowly struggling to get his head around this.

"Yes. He is here. He's in the hospital. He got injured through an anomaly at the same time you appeared in this world. I kept this world's Nick in the hospital while you were here and now you can go home and make things right."

"What about Stephen?"

"He'll be fine."

"Will he really?" said Nick scowling at her, "You shot him! You said he was probably dead already!"

"Just go _home _Nick!" Helen implored. Nick looked at her for a moment before nodding. He had to do this. Even if she was lying he could come straight back through but it made a strange sort of sense.

He walked slowly towards the anomaly…

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"Time of death: seven fifty six," came the fateful words that made Abby's heart shatter to pieces and Connor's mind to go numb with shock. Any minute now the Doctor would come through and say they were sorry and even though they'd done their best there was nothing more they could do. Then they would be left alone to grieve their loss.

Abby couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. Connor had slumped down the wall and onto the floor of the corridor and buried his head in his hands. Neither party cried; they were beyond that already and there was no point in crying. They both knew crying wouldn't help anyone. They had to stay strong. They had to carry on…at least until Nick came back. He'd know what to do.

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Nick stepped towards the anomaly with his heart pounding in his chest. This was the moment he'd find out if Helen was lying to him. He braced himself for the possible disappointment. He held his breath as he stepped through the anomaly… 


	5. Home

**This is the final chapter. I really hope you've all enjoyed reading it and many thanks to those of you who reviewed. If you haven't reviewed but you've been reading I would love to hear from you! Only if you want to though. If you don't want I shall never know. But oh well. On with the show.**

**SgtGroganSG - I live in Scotland so I've seen the finale. I'm not gonna tell you what happensbut it's fantastic! Anyways, I'm glad you like my story! Thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoy this last chapter.**

**kat priestly - Yes, I killed him. And yes, in a way it is permanant. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this last chapter. **

**As always,**

**Paula xxx**

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Nick looked around in amazement. Helen hadn't been lying. It was all true. He was standing in the Forest Of Dean surrounding him and it was empty. He smiled and turned around to the anomaly. It was still there shining as brightly as ever. He took a deep breath and walked away from it feeling more at home than he ever had in the other world. Everything seemed to make some sort of sense now. All the things that had puzzled him back there was all sorted now…apart from the secret behind the anomalies but he that was a matter for later.

Hit by a sudden curiosity, Nick Cutter pulled out his mobile and searched through his contacts. One thing that had struck him as odd was the fact that everyone had the same phone numbers through in the parallel world. He didn't quite understand how he'd manage to end up on a parallel network. He was back now and he wanted to know if he'd be able to contact the people from this world.

He found the number he was looking for within a few seconds. Stephen. He pressed the call button and listened to the dial tone.

"Hello?" came Stephen's voice on the other end of the line. Nick felt the relief wash over him when he heard the reassuring sound of the younger man. He was _alive._

"Stephen."

"Nick?" said Stephen sounding shocked.

"Yes."

Silence.

"Stephen?" Nick prompted.

"You…where? Where were you? What happened? You just disappeared!" Stephen babbled into the phone, "After…after what Helen said…we were terrified Nick! We didn't know where you'd gone! I thought…I thought it was my fault!"

"No. It wasn't your fault. What happened with Helen was in the past. It still is and it'll remain there," Nick said slowly choosing his words carefully.

"But…but where were you?"

"I was…I was trapped. Through an anomaly," Cutter said, not quite able to bring himself to say that he was trapped in a parallel world.

"Where are you now?"

"The forest."

"You want me to come and get you?" Stephen asked. Nick smiled. The young man wanted answers.

"Yeah, thanks Stephen."

When Stephen arrived at the forest he parked the car carelessly and jumped out. He flung open the car door and walked along the path looking for Nick.

"STEPHEN!" Nick called. Stephen smiled as he saw Nick Cutter running towards him beaming. Stephen wasn't quite expecting such a positive reaction. Although Nick had said that what happened with Helen was in the past he still wasn't convinced that he was forgiven.

"Nick!"

"Good to see you again!" said Nick throwing his arms around Stephen in a fatherly hug.

"You too! We all thought we'd lost you!"

"Well you haven't. I'm here and I'm not gonna leave you again," Nick said seriously. He'd already seen Stephen shot and he wasn't going to see another one of his team die again. He couldn't. He was home again and that was the only thing that mattered to him now. The two men walked back to the car…


End file.
